Fellow A4 enthusiasts...<p><br>The wife needed a new car and after many, many test drives, we decided to buy a contour svt...silver with the midnight interior....although the svt is no audi, i can truthfully report that this is the alternative for those whose budgets dictate getting something more economical than a bimmer or audi....First, we were able to get the car out the door for 23,000...that is with leather, cd, moonroof, 16 in rims w/ the new g-force radials...0-60 comes buy at 6.9 seconds and the quarter is in the high 14's...we compared this car to the passat 1.8t, bmw 318ti, honda accord v6, infinity g20t, and integra gsr....after many drives, this is the driver car of the bunch...<p>the five speed is slightly notchy, but very short...it is very quick and the engine redlines safely to its 7g limit...after coming out of my 1.8t with wett 1.0/brullen/k&n, i can certainly say that the audi will not outrun this car. the svt also rides pretty nice and handles progressively, letting you know when the limits are near...i test drove it in the rain and appreciated the quattro even more after the drive...<p>i am glad that we did not purchase the passat...IMHO, it needs more work in the suspension/tire department to win me over and i did not want to spend thousands on aftermarket stuff to get close to what the contour has and still be 50 horse short...<p>althought the contour lacks in exterior styling, it is a very nice car FOR the money. i highly recommend it...for those dreaming of a4's but are a little short and who do not want to put about 2 grand into a passat to get it to perform almost like a a4, get the car i lovingly call my super tempo...<p>joe s.<br>98 QTSM/wett 1.0/brullen/k&n/etc...<br>99 contour svt

... is that still politically correct to say? Off-the-showroom-floor-safety-and-EPA-approved? It's a great car, and I would guess 99% of people... maybe 99.999% of people in the U.S. want a car that is great from the day of purchase. Not race-ready, not a pain on the freeway, not complaining with certain gearing situations, but great every day, even when it rains on the way to Aunt Jane's house. The other ones are crazy.<p>I fit into the other group, along with a STATISTICALLY UNLIKELY (high) number of other people on the board. Hmm... could it be that enthusiast boards aren't a random sample of the population? Nah. Example: For $45,000 I'd much rather have a $25,000 A4 1.8TQ and spend $20,000 on modifications. Than what, you ask? Than have a Boxster. "God, you're insane!" chimes in Joe at school, who just bought a 205hp Boxster. There will never be as many great tuners out there dreaming about modifications on an SVT Contour as there are on the A4 or the 3-series. The first time I drove my A4, it felt incomplete somehow. I didn't figure out how until I mapped out modifications for my car.<p>The Contour is a fabulous car, amazingly good all-around for the price without speeding-ticket boy-racer styling (Mitsubishi, are you listening?) The car is great, but it lacks those little spaces some of us love to fill. If you ask me, this is more good than bad... you don't want to have two cars in the garage feeding your modification addiction.<p>Side note: the shifter isn't bad (a bit notchy), though the Miata shifter feel is still amazing for the price of the car... probably the best part of the Miata was its shifter.<p>Cameron

I've been also tempted to try the svt but am now even more intrigued by the vw jetta glx. Hopefully available in January for similar price.

For Ford its a decent looking car - certainly better than this 'New Edge' crap their dishing out, but it's still kind of bland styling wize. Although I have to admit if I was to recommend an american car it would probably be this one.

Hmmmm, speeding-ticket, racer boy styling? You've seen the pictures of my car. You have A! mods. too, this qualifies us, doesn't it? ;)<br>-C.<br>

The 1999 Mustang GT does the quarter mile in 15 sec flat. I find it hard to believe that the Contour SVT outperforms it. 15.3 sounds about right.<p>PS. I like the contour.

How did you like the Brullen exhaust? How aggressive is its exhaust note. I am looking for a cat-back system that is not too loud, but would give me a little better note than stock. LLTEK's price on the Brullen sounds pretty good.<p>SpencerW<br>97 1.8tqms

I too am looking for an aftermarket exhaust system. What do you think of the performance improvements? Any figures?<br>